Regulating-valve



(No Modem Y 2 sheets-sheet 1.- T. H. HOLMES. REGULATING VALVE.

Patented Sept. 9, 1890.

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(No Model.)

T. HQ HOLMES. RBGrULTNGV VALVE.

' Patented Sept. 9, 1890. -J'YGAA JYQ. 6

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THOMAS H. HOLMES, OF lPHILADELPHIA,-PENNSYLVANIA.4

REGULATING-VALVE.

SPECIFICATION formingv part of Letters Patent No. 436,177, datedSeptember 9, 1890.

' Application filed January 19, 1889. Serial No. 296,851. (No medal.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. HOLMES, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain and Ireland, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain Improvements in Regulating-Valves, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of my invention is to construct a regulating-valve for use inconnection with a device for automatically cutting off steam or Watersupplies, my invention being espeoially applicable to steam-traps, thevalves of which have to be frequently repaired.

A further object is to construct a steamtrap embodying my invention thatwill be simn ple and effective, as fully described hereinafter,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Whichl Figure l isa side View, partly in section, of my improved steam trap andregulatingvalve. Fig. 2 is a view of a steam-trap of different form inwhich my'regulating-valve is used. Fig. 3 is a View of my improved valveused for cutting off steam or Water from a pump. or other device. Fig. 4is a longitudinal section of my valve in detail. Fig. 5 is a side viewof a portion of the valve. Fig. 6 is an end view of the valve-seat. Fig.7 is a face view of the valve proper. Fig. 8 is a section on the line l2, Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a detached perspective view of the strainer. Fig.10 is a longitudinal section on the line 3 4, Fig. 1, and Fig. ll isavievv of a modification.

Regulating-valves employed in connection with steam-traps, through WhichWater of condensation and steam passes, Wear away very quickly, owing tothe fact that scale o1' other foreign matters gain access to thesteam-pi pes when put up or when repairs arc being made, and owing alsoto the cutting action of the steam itself; but by constructing the valvein accordance With my invention the wearin gfaces of the valve can bereadily removed from the valve-casing, chucked to a lathe, turned offaccurately, and replaced in a comparatively short time.

Referring to Fig. l and the views illustrating the details of myinvention, A is the body of the valve having a screw-threaded stem a.The valve and its stem are hollow for the passage of steam or Water. Thevalve-bodyAis reduced at a', which portion is threaded to receive theremovable valve-seat B, (shown more clearly in Fig. 6,) said valve-seatBhaving an internal thread adapted to the portion a and having suitableports b h, through which steam or Water can pass. The face c of thevalve-seat is at right angles to a longi- These ports vor openings dcommunicate with each other through a passage d in the valve proper. Theface cof the valve is also ground off at right angles to a longitudinalline through the body A.

The valve proper D is kept to its seatB by a pressure-spring E or othersuitable device on the post C, the tension of this spring beingregulated by means of a nut or nuts f on the threaded end of the post C,on adjusting which the pressure of the valve upon the valveseat can beregulated as desired.

I place within the valve-body A a'strainer K in the form of a plate,Fig. 9, with a series of perfor-ations 7c. This plate is placed in theinlet-passage, and is passed up through an opening held in place by anL-shaped bolt h, which passes through a sleeve g in the body A,aud hasat its upper end a securing-nut h', as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. Thisstrainerplate K prevents the passage of any small pieces of iron orother foreign matter Which might otherwise gain access to the valve andcut the seat of the same, and the special construction enables me tomake the strainer very light, andvhaving the securing devicesindependent of the strainer only one opening inthe. body of the valve isnecessary for its application thereto.

The valve, as shown in Fig. 4, is especially 5 adapted for use inconnection with the steamtrap shown in Fig. 2, in which a float H isconnected to the valve proper D by a tube F, which communicates With thepassage d.

This iioat H has an outlet-pipe G, which ex- IOO tends nearly to thebottom of the oat and projects through the upper portion of the same, asshown in Fig. 2, said float also having a small outlet g'.

It will be understood that I do not claim 'the construction of thisfloat and its inlet and outlet pipes; but I will describe the operationof a trap built on this principle, so as to impart a clear'understandingof the construction and operation of my improved valve. The water otcondensation from the steampipes iiows through the passagesin the body Aof the valve, through the ports l) b in the seat, through the ports d inthe valve proper D, and thence through the tube F into the float. Whensteam commences to pass through the passages described, it enters thefloat and forces the water out through the tube G and the small openingg', and the ioat being relieved of the weight ofthe water will rise tothe level shown by dotted lines, thus cutting oit the inlet-opening. Theioat I-I will then slowly lill with water entering through the smallopening g in the bottom, and will gradually move the ports l) in linewith the ports d', and all the water of condensation which hasaccumulated in the pipes will pass through the valve, and the operationabove described is repeated. I prefer, however, to construct the valveas shown in Fig. 10 when used in connection with a steam-trap, which Ialso prefer to construct as shown in Fig. 1, the valve-body A in thisinstance having two passages on n, the passage m being the inletpassageand n the exhaust-passage. The valve-seat B also has inlet and exhaustports, as also has the valve proper D, the valve in this case havingaplate d2, which divides the chamber d' into two parts, as shown in Fig.1.

This steam-trap is constructed in the following manner: Tapped into theexhaustchamber are tubes F' and G', these two tubes being attached oneto the top and the other to the bottom of a cylinder or globe I-I', Fig.1, into which the water of condensation from the steam-pipes is forced.This globe II is balanced by a weight I, adjustable on a stem I',projecting from the opposite end of the valve proper D; but it will beunderstood that the weight I can be dispensed with if the globe H isused as a fioat, as in Fig. 2. Pivoted to the body of the valve is anarm J, having at its upper end a weighted ball J', and on the valveproper D are two tappets j j', which limit the extent of rockingmovement of the arm J, and also push the arm over the center at certainportions of the stroke, so that the ports will be opened q uickly.

The operation of the valve in connection with the steam-trap abovedescribed is as follows: After the globe H' is emptied of the water theweight I moves the globe and valve to the position shown in Fig. 1,closing the exhaust-passage and opening the inlet, so that the water ofcondensation in the 4pipes will pass through ythe valve and pipe F intothe globe Il'. The ball J, being over the center,

adds to ,the weight I and tends to keep the globe in elevated position,allowing the water of condensation to iqw into the same until theweights I and J' are overbalanced by the weight of the water in theglobe, when said globe will fall in the direction of the arrow, carryingwith it the lug j, which pushes the arm and its ball over the center, sothat the arm will strike the lug j' and accelerate the downward movementof the globe, the inletports being thus closed and the exhaust-portsopened quickly. The waterfrom the globe then passes out the exhaustuntil the globe becomes so light that the weight I will overbalance boththe weight of the globe and that ot' the arm .I when the globe willrise, the lug j' throwing the arm over the center again, and said armstriking the lugj will quickly open the inlet and close the exhaust, theabove-described operation being repeated indefinitely.

In place of the weighted lever .I a balancebeam J2 may be used, as shownin Fig. 11. This beam is hollow, having enlargements at each end. Thebeam contains a certain amount of mercury, so that when the projectionou the valve D strikes one of the lugs 3'2 it tips the beam and themercury flows to the lowest point, accelerating the movement of thevalve D.

When my invention is used for controlling" the passage of steam into apump which supplies a tank and is intermittently operated, so as to keepthe water in said tank at a proper level, I construct the valve in thefollowing manner, referring to Fig. 3: A' is the inlet and A2 the outletpassage, B the movable valve-seat, and D the valve, which in thisinstance has aspindle or pivot C` which passes through the valve-body Aand is held in place by a spring E, the tension of which is adjusted bya nut f. The valvehas passages d d and connectingpassage d', and inplace of the tube F a lever L is secured to the valve D, and to thislever is attached a cord or rope Z, connecting the lever with a ioat inthe reservoir or tank above described, so that when the water in thetank falls the float will descend with it and the valve will be turnedto the position shown in Fig. 3, allowing steam to pass from the inletA' to the outlet A2 to the pump, which will thus be set in motion toforce water into the tank, raising the float, and consequently movingthe valve to again cut oit communication and stop the operation of thepump.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, in a regulating-valve, ofthe valve-body A, the removable seat B, adapted to said body and havingports, with a valve proper D, the face of which is adapted to the faceof the valve-seat, and said valve having ports and passages,substantially as' body having a threaded stem a', with a re-` movablevalve-seat B, adapted to said stein,

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sage d', communicating with said ports, said ports and passage forming apassage through the valve, and devices for keeping the valve to itsseat, substantially as described.

4. The combination, in avalv', of the body 15 A and the inlet-passagethrough said body, With a perforated strainer-plate K, adapted to beinserted in said body, and an L-shaped bolt. h, adapted to a sleeve g inthe body A,

with a nut h', adapted to said bolt, substan- 2o tially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of tWo subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS H. HOLMES.

Witnesses: A

WILLIAM D. CONNER, HENRY HoWsoN.

